Related

Start talking about Vancouver and it won’t be too long before the conversation works its way around to affordability. Everyone has a story of the outrageous rent, the tiny high-priced condo — and the friends who had to move away because the bills were just too high.

This week, we received the final report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Housing. It has the potential to make a huge difference for our entire city, and it’s an issue I campaigned strongly on in the last two elections.

But we can’t give the report’s recommendations the consideration they deserve unless we take the time to truly appreciate what the cost of living in Vancouver is doing to our communities.

Nearly every day since I became mayor, I’ve heard from family after family and business owner after business owner about how the high cost of living impacts their lives.

One day, it might be a young couple whose second child is on the way, and who’ve decided it’s time to buy a home. And they’ve come to the conclusion they simply can’t do it in Vancouver’s housing market, and they’re planning to move to the Fraser Valley.

The next day it might be a senior, someone who can tell me the names of the families who’ve lived on their block going back half a century … but with a fixed income he just can’t afford to stay in his neighbourhood.

I’ve spoken to people in deep distress because they hold down three jobs and it’s still not enough to make rent. I’ve talked to owners of major companies who can’t fill positions because their workforce is leaving the city for somewhere more affordable.

And I lost count a long time ago of the number of people who just laugh off the idea of ever owning a home here.

The lack of affordability imposes a burden on everyone. When mortgage and rental costs eat up the discretionary income of a large swath of our population, it depresses spending in the local economy. When our communities start losing young families and seniors on fixed incomes, we lose vitality and a sense of generational continuity.

Of course, all of this is playing out against the backdrop of a prosperous city. We have innovative businesses, a thriving cultural scene, vibrant neighbourhoods and remarkable business, community and environmental leadership.

We’re doing well — but we could be doing much better.

That’s why the task force recommendations are important to everyone in Vancouver. And whether making your next mortgage payment or rent is an impossibility or a foregone conclusion, I’m asking you to set aside a little time this weekend and read them over.

You’ll find some bold ideas and some common-sense approaches. They include:

Creating an arm’s-length affordable housing authority to deliver a steady supply of affordable housing, now and for many years to come;

Encouraging more low-rise row houses and townhouses on streets well-served by transit, and requiring them to be 100 per cent rental or sold at 20 per cent below market value;

Working to strengthen protections for renters and aging housing stock.

I’ve also heard loud and clear the concerns people had. That’s why we made clear the Thin Streets proposal — using wide streets to add small, affordable housing with additional park space — needs to slow down. Three community plans are underway in Marpole, Grandview Woodland, and the West End, and it’ll be up to local residents to decide if they support it. It’s not going to be forced on anyone.

And contrary to front-page claims of a “new, dense city,” our proposals to increase townhouses and row houses near transit are limited and highly restrained — we’ve set a cap of 20 pilot projects for the entire city. A final report comes back to council in June for more consultation.

Our job now — as a city — is to take these ideas from recommendation to reality, and to ensure Vancouver’s communities and the people who live in them participate fully in guiding their implementation.

This goes to the heart of what I’ve campaigned on in two elections now.

And that’s the vital importance of ensuring Vancouver is a livable city in every sense: economically, environmentally, socially … and, for every one of us, financially.

Gregor Robertson is the mayor of the City of Vancouver.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Video

Today's News

Best of Postmedia

Millennials, amirite? They’re nothing but Instagram-happy, emoji-LOL-ing, mannequin-challenging navelgazers. Or so the theory goes. How can they put their pants on one leg at a time, like everyone else, when they’re sausaged into skinny jeans? Yet when it comes to […]

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, ‘Come and see.’ And I saw, and behold a white elephant, and he that sat upon him had a crown, which he wore atop his fiery hair, and […]

An Ottawa judge has thrown out a romance fraud case that has taken more than four years to go to trial, ruling that the excessive delay has robbed the accused man of his right to a fair trial. Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips on Friday stayed the case against Kevin Bishop of Ottawa, who had […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.